De Facto Wellington Super-D report
Race run.
Since my seeding run went badly, I was off the very back of the pack (19 elite men/women), passed a bunch of people across the flat-ish top section, kept up the el desperado passes down into the steep rocky stuff, then just progressively ran out of arms and hands and got eaten up.
Rode pretty conservatively the rest of the way, stopped a couple of times to rest my hands because my little fingers were going numb and it was hard to hold on, brakes were fading badly finally sprinted over the line in 25:53, a few positions better than I started. Fitness failed, bike didn't, just had nothing left in the tank.
Kaine Cannan won the open mens division in a ridiculous, mental time of 16:40 on his 4Shaw Agencies/SRAM Intense M6, followed in ten seconds later by Tim Watson amazingly on a Commencal Meta 5.5(!), and local Ripper Josh Johnston in third.
It was an absolutely amazing event, and hopefully will be run again late in this year; I would encourage anyone with a bike and a full face to make their way down because it is an absolute epic.
Massive props to Simon French and the entire DirtArt Events team for putting on a truly awesome event, slickly managed and huge fun. Also massive thanks to Wellington Park, Ride Bellerive, MacOrama Digital Life Services, Van Dieman Brewery and Rockstar/88 Agencies.
Equipment report.
Had some vibration related failures over the weekend; first mechanicals I've had with this bike. Lost rear brake lever pivot pin, vibrated out. Two chainring bolts vibrated loose and fell out between the carpark and the startline.
Will give everything a dose of loctite next time!
Larsen TT Dual Ply slow reezay was a major surprise, a very capable tyre, although for super rocky stuff the sidewall is a little exposed. Grip and rolling resistance were both awesome.
Renthal SR4 Chainring is an AMAZING piece of gear. The difference in stiffness compared to the previous E13 item is amazing (as in almost feels like a different crankset), and it coped with repeated hits that would fold the E13 one without flinching. I was constantly bottoming the chainring and guide into rocks, and it is as straight as it was out of the packet.
